Server for control plane in mobile communication network and method for enabling the server to control service

ABSTRACT

A method and a network entity for controlling a service in charge of a control plane in a network are discussed. The method according to an embodiment includes receiving subscription information including an indicator related to a selected internet protocol (IP) traffic offload (SIPTO). The method further includes triggering a re-establishment of the SIPTO when a movement of a user equipment from an (e)Node B to a Home (e)Node B is detected; allowing the SIPTO excluding a SIPTO at the local network based on an access point name (APN) when the indicator indicates that the SIPTO is allowed and the SIPTO at the local network is excluded; and allowing the SIPTO including the SIPTO at the local network based on the APN when the indicator indicates that the SIPTO is allowed and the SIPTO at the local network is included.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/984,747 filed on Aug. 9, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,538,424 issued onJan. 3, 2017), which is filed as the National Phase of PCT/KR2012/000877filed on Feb. 7, 2012, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e)to U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/502,849 filed on Jun. 29, 2011,61/442,283 filed on Feb. 13, 2011, and 61/441,661 filed on Feb. 11,2011, and under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0011992 filed on Feb. 6, 2012, all of which are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference into the present application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a server in charge of a control planein a mobile communication network and a method of controlling a service,which is controlled by the server.

Discussion of the Related Art

In order to deal with many forums related to a fourth generation mobilecommunication and a new technology, 3GPP for establishing a technologystandard of a third generation mobile communication system has startedto conduct a study on LTE/SAE (Long Term Evolution/System ArchitectureEvolution) technology by the end of 2004 in a bid to optimize andenhance performance of 3GPP technologies.

The SAE proceeded centering on 3GPP SA WG2 is a study on a networktechnology having a purpose of determining a network structure in amanner of juggling an LTE job of 3GPP TSG RAN and the purpose ofsupporting mobility between heterogeneous networks. Currently, the SAEis one of important standardization issues of 3GPP. This is a job todevelop a 3GPP system to a system supporting various radio accesstechnologies based on an IP. The job has been progressed to achieve atarget of an optimized packet-based system minimizing a transmissiondelay with a more enhanced data transmission capability.

An SAE upper level reference model defined by the 3GPP SA WG2 includes anon-roaming case and roaming cases of various scenarios. Detail contentsmay refer to 3GPP standard document TS 23.400a and TS 23.400b. A diagramof a network structure in FIG. 1 corresponds to a simple reconstructionof the SAE upper level reference model.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a structure of an evolved mobile communicationnetwork.

One of main characteristics of the network structure in FIG. 1corresponds that the structure is based on a 2 Tier Model, i.e., aneNode B of Evolved UTRAN and a Gateway of a Core Network. Although it isnot perfectly matched to each other, it is able to say that the eNode B20 includes the function of a Node B and an RNC of a legacy UMTS systemand the Gateway includes a function of SGSN/GGSN of a legacy system.

Another main characteristic of the network structure is that a ControlPlane and a User Plane between an Access network and the Core Networkare exchanged by an interface different from each other. In the legacyUMTS system, there exist one interface, i.e., Iu, between RNC and SGSN.On the other hand, since an MME (Mobility Management Entity) in chargeof processing a control signal has a structure separated from the GW(Gateway), two types of interface, i.e., S1-MME and S1-U, can be used,respectively. The GW can be classified into a serving gateway(hereinafter abbreviated S-GW) 52 and a packet data network gateway(hereinafter abbreviated PDN-GW or P-GW) 53.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a relationship between an (e)Node B and a Home(e)Node B.

An attempt to increase cell capacity in order to support such ahigh-capacity service as multimedia content, streaming, and the like anda bidirectional service in the third generation or the fourth generationmobile communication system continues.

In particular, since various transmission techniques of high-capacityare required according to a development of a communication anddissemination of a multimedia technology, it is able to allocate morefrequency resources to increase radio capacity. Yet, since the frequencyresource is limited, there exist a limit for allocating the limitedfrequency resource to a plurality of users.

In order to increase the cell capacity, an approach of using a highfrequency band and the approach of reducing a cell radius have beentried. If such a cell of a small radius as a pico cell and the like areapplied, since it is able to use a frequency band higher than thefrequency band used in a legacy cellular system, more information can bedelivered. Yet, since more base stations are necessary to be installedin an identical area, cost may dramatically increase instead.

As mentioned in the foregoing description, recently, a femto basestation such as the Home (e)Node B is proposed among the approaches ofincreasing the cell capacity by using a small cell.

A study on the Home (e)Node B 30 has been started to conduct centeringon RAN WG3 of 3GPP Home (e)Node B. Recently, the Home (e)Node B is alsostudied in SA WG in earnest.

The (e)Node B 20 depicted in FIG. 2 corresponds to a macro base stationand the Home (e)Node B 30 may correspond to the femto base station. Itis intended that the present specification is explained based on aterminology of 3GPP and the (e)Node B is used when a Node B and an eNodeB are mentioned together. And, the Home (e)Node B is used when a HomeNode B and a Home eNode B are mentioned together.

Interfaces depicted with dotted lines are used for transmitting acontrol signal between the (e)Node B 20, the Home (e)Node B 30 and theMME 510. And, the interfaces depicted with lines are used fortransmitting a data of the user plane.

FIG. 3 indicates a problem according to a prior technology.

As depicted in FIG. 3, if a traffic is overloaded or congested in theinterface between the (e)Node B 20 and the S-GW 52 or if the traffic isoverloaded or congested in the interface between the Home (e)Node B andthe S-GW 52, a downlink data to the UE 10 or an uplink data from the UE10 is not correctly transmitted and failed.

Or, if the interface between the S-GW 52 and the PDN-GW 53 or theinterface between the PDN-GW 53 and an IP (internet protocol) servicenetwork of a mobile communication service provider is overloaded orcongested, the downlink data to the UE 10 or the upload data from the UE10 is not properly transmitted and failed.

And, when the UE performs a handover from a cell where the UE iscurrently receiving a service to a different cell, if the different cellis in a state of being overloaded, a service of the UE is dropped.

In order to solve the aforementioned problem, mobile communicationservice providers have changed the S-GW 52 and the PDN-GW 53 with agateway of a high capacity and have built additional equipments, bywhich entails significantly high cost. And, since the quantity oftransceived data geometrically increases, although additional equipmentis newly built, it becomes overloaded soon.

Meanwhile, various methods to optimize the S-GW 52 and the PDN-GW 53without building an additional mobile communication network have beenproposed. For instance, a specific IP traffic (e.g., internet service)of the UE is transmitted in a manner of selecting an optimal path in amacro access network and the specific IP traffic is transmitted in afemto access network (e.g., Home (e)NB) in a manner of detouring in apath via nodes of a public network, i.e., a wired network withouttransceiving the traffic via the path of the mobile communicationnetwork. The technique making a traffic detour (Selected IP trafficoffload), i.e., a SIPTO has been proposed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a concept of a SIPTO (Selected IP trafficoffload).

Referring to FIG. 4, such a mobile communication system as an EPS(evolved packet system) is depicted as an example. The EPS systemincludes an (e)Node B 20, an MME 51, an S-GW 52, and a P-GW 53. And, aHome (e)Node B 30 is depicted as well.

In this case, as depicted in FIG. 4, the SIPTO (Selected IP trafficoffload) technique diverts a specific IP traffic (e.g., internetservice) of the UE 10 to the nodes of a wired network 70 without passingthrough the nodes of an IP service network 60 of a mobile communicationservice provider.

For instance, if the UE 10 is allowed to access the (e)Node B 20, the UE10 generates a session, which is passing through such a wired network 70as a public communication network, via the (e)Node B 20 and can performan IP network service via the session. In this case, service providerpolicy and subscription information may be considered.

In order to generate the session, in case of the UMTS, a local gatewayin charge of a part of function of GGSN or, in case the EPS, a localgateway in charge of a part of function of P-GW (PDN gateway) can beused as a gateway installed near the (e)Node B 20.

This kind of local gateway is called a local GGSN or a local P-GW. Afunction of the local GGSN or the local P-GW is similar to that of theGGSN or the P-GW.

As mentioned in the foregoing description, the SIPTO technique hasproposed a concept of generating a session to divert (offload) the dataof the UE to such a wired network as a public communication network viathe (e)Node B, i.e., a macro base station.

Yet, since the aforementioned legacy SIPTO technique makes a data of auser pass through a macro base station, i.e., (e)Node B 20, if the(e)Node B 20 is in a state of being overloaded, there still exist aproblem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Hence, an object of the present specification is to provide a techniqueenabling a data of a user to be diverted (offload) to such a wirednetwork as a public communication network via a Home (e)Node B as well.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the presentspecification provides a technique enabling a data of a user to bediverted (offload) to such a wired network as a public communicationnetwork via a Home (e)Node B as well.

Specifically, the present specification provides a method of controllinga service in a server in charge of a control plane in a network. Themethod includes the steps of receiving a first message containing atleast one selected from the group consisting of an APN (Access PointName), a parameter indicating an identifier of a local gateway, and anindicator related to a SIPTO (Selected IP Traffic Offload) service,wherein the first message comprises a request message requested by auser equipment, if a SIPTO service is checked to be available in theHome (e)Node B based on the received first message, judging whether aSIPTO is applicable to a data of the user equipment based on the APN inthe first message, wherein the APN contained in the first message isjudged whether the APN is applicable to the SIPTO based on a pre-storedAPN-related information in the step of judging, if the SIPTO isapplicable to the data of the user equipment, determining whether theSIPTO service is provided to the user equipment based on an agreementinformation of a user for the SIPTO service, and transmitting a SIPTOservice notification to the Home (e)Node B according to the decision.

Meanwhile, the present specification provides a server in charge of acontrol plane in a network. The server includes a transceiving unitconfigured to receive a first message including at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of an APN (Access Point Name), a parameterindicating an identifier of a local gateway, and an indicator related toa SIPTO (Selected IP Traffic Offload) service. The first message caninclude a request message requested by a user equipment. And, if a SIPTOservice is checked to be available in the Home (e)Node B based on thereceived first message, the server can include a control unit configuredto judge whether a SIPTO is applicable to a data of the user equipmentbased on the APN, if the SIPTO is applicable to the data of the userequipment, the control unit configured to determine whether the SIPTOservice is provided to the user equipment based on an agreementinformation of a user for the SIPTO service. The transceiving unit cantransmit a SIPTO service notification to the Home (e)Node B according tothe decision.

In order to judge whether the SIPTO is applicable, the control unit canjudge whether the APN included in the first message is applicable to theSIPTO based on a pre-stored APN-related information.

The agreement information of a user for the SIPTO service transmits aninformation request message to the user equipment and the agreementinformation of a user for the SIPTO service can be included in aninformation response message received in response to the informationrequest message.

An information response message including the agreement information of auser for the SIPTO service can be received when the user equipmentperforms an attach procedure, a TAU (Tracking Area Update) procedure,and a handover procedure.

The agreement information of a user for the SIPTO service may beobtained from a subscriber information server.

The method of controlling can further include at least one of the stepsof determining whether a LIPA (Local IP Access) service is provided tothe user equipment, transmitting a LIPA service permission informationor a filter information to the local gateway according to the decision,and transmitting at least one of the LIPA service permissioninformation, the filter information, and a notification for the LIPAservice to the Home (e)node B.

In this case, the LIPA service permission information or the filterinformation can be used to determine whether the Home (e)Node B or thelocal gateway blocks a data for the LIPA service occurred by the userequipment. And, the notification for the LIPA service can be used toinform the user equipment of whether the LIPA service is permitted.

The SIPTO service notification may indicate an application of a SIPTOfemto. The SIPTO femto may mean that the data of the user equipment isdiverted via a home network connected to the Home (e)Node B.

The SIPTO service notification for indicating the application of theSIPTO femto may be a dedicated notification message different from anotification for indicating an application of a SIPTO macro.Alternatively, the SIPTO service notification for indicating theapplication of the SIPTO femto can be represented by an attribute valuewithin a notification for indicating the application of the SIPTOservice.

According to embodiment of the present specification, it is able todivert (offload) a data of a user to such a wired network as a publiccommunication network via a Home (e)Node B as well.

Meanwhile, in case of diverting (offload) a data of a user to such awired network as a public communication network via a Home (e)Node B aswell, a LIPA service is selectively supported according to a user or aUE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a structure of an evolved mobile communicationnetwork;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a relationship between an (e)Node B and a Home(e)Node B;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for showing a problem of a prior art;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for a concept of a SIPTO (Selected IP TrafficOffload);

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of an architecture proposed by thepresent specification;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram of a basic procedure to provide a SIPTOservice via a Home (e)Node B;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart briefly showing a control procedure to provide aSIPTO service of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a more detail procedure of the proceduredepicted in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary diagram of a message protocol depicted in FIG. 8;and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a Home (e)Node B 300 and an MME 510according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is explained on the basis of UMTS (universalmobile Telecommunication System) and an EPC (Evolved Packet Core). Yet,the present invention may be non-limited to this and can be applied toall communication systems and methods to which a technical idea of thepresent invention is applicable.

The technical terminologies used in the present specification are usedonly to describe a specific embodiment(s) and have no intention torestrict the present invention. The technical terminologies used in thepresent specification should be construed not as excessively inclusivemeanings or excessively reduced meanings but as meanings generallyunderstood by those having ordinary skill in the technical field, towhich the present invention pertains, unless defined as other meaningsespecially in the present specification. If the technical terminologiesused in the present specification fail in correctly representing theidea of the present invention, they should be substituted with technicalterminologies correctly understandably by those having ordinary skill inthe technical field to which the present invention pertains. Moreover,general terminologies used by the present invention may be construed notas the excessively reduced meanings but as the meanings defined indictionaries or the sequence of the context.

And, the singular number representation used in the presentspecification may include the plural number representation unlessmentioned clearly and differently in context. In the presentapplication, such a terminology as ‘configured’, ‘include’ and the likeshould be construed not as necessarily including various components orsteps written in the present specification but as including thecomponents or steps in part or further including additional componentsor steps.

Moreover, a terminology, each of which includes such an ordinal numberas 1^(st), 2^(nd) and the like, may be used to describe variouscomponents. In doing so, the various components should be non-limited bythe corresponding terminologies, respectively. The terminologies areonly used for the purpose of discriminating one component from othercomponents. For instance, a 1^(st) component may be named a 2^(nd)component while coming within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents. Similarly, the 2^(nd) component may be named the 1^(st)component.

In case that one component is mentioned as ‘connected to’ or ‘accessing’another component, it may be connected to or access the correspondingcomponent in direct. Yet, new component(s) may exist in between. On theother hand, in case that one component is mentioned as ‘directlyconnected to’ or ‘directly accessing’ another component, it should beunderstood that new component(s) may not exist in between.

In the following description, a preferable embodiment according to thepresent invention is explained in detail with reference to the attacheddrawings. The same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts in this specificationirrespective of the sign of the drawings and the overlapped explanationon the corresponding content can be omitted. And, in describing thepresent invention, if the detailed description of the related art isdetermined as making the point of the present invention unclear, it willbe omitted. The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide afurther understanding of the invention and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of theinvention and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples of the invention only. While the present invention has beendescribed and illustrated herein with reference to the preferredembodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and variations can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it isintended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention that come within the scope of the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

In the attached drawings, although a UE (user equipment) is depicted asan example, the UE can be called such a terminology as a terminal, amobile equipment (ME), and the like. And, the UE may correspond to sucha portable device equipped with a communication function as a cellularphone, a PDA, a smart phone, a notebook, or the like. Or, the UE maycorrespond to such a device not capable of being carried as a PC, avehicle mounted device.

Definition of a Terminology

Prior to the beginning of explanation with reference to drawings, theterms used in the present specification is briefly defined to helpunderstand the present invention.

UMTS: an abbreviation for a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System.

It means a third generation mobile communication network.

EPS: an abbreviation for an Evolved Packet System. It means a corenetwork supporting a LTE (Long Term Evolution) network.

PDN (public Data Network): it means an independent network where aservice providing server is situated.

APN (Access Point Name): it is a name of an access point managed by anetwork and is provided to a UE. In particular, it indicates a name(character string) of the PDN. A corresponding PDN for transceiving adata is determined based on the name of the access point.

Access control: it means a control procedure for allowing a UE to usesuch an access system as a Home (e)node B or moving the UE to adifferent access system.

TEID (Tunnel Endpoint Identifier): it is an Endpoint ID of a tunnelconfigured between nodes in a network. It is configured according to asection in a bearer unit of each UE.

Node B: a base station of a UMTS network. It is installed in outdoor anda size of cell coverage corresponds to a macro cell.

eNode B: a base station of an EPS (Evolved Packet System) network. It isinstalled outdoor and a size of cell coverage corresponds to a macrocell.

(e)Node B: a terminology indicating a Node B and an eNode B.

Home Node B: a base station of a UMTS network. It is installed indoor. Asize of cell coverage corresponds to a femto cell.

Home eNode B: a base station of an EPS network. It is installed indoor.A size of cell coverage corresponds to a femto cell.

Home (e)Node B: a terminology indicating a Home Node B and a Home eNodeB.

Home (e)Node B gateway: a gateway plays a role of interfacing with acore network in a manner of being connected to at least one Home (e)NodeB.

Home (e)Node B subsystem: a form managing a radio network in a manner ofbinding Home (e)Node B and a Home (e)node B gateway as a set. Since theHome (e)Node B subsystem and the Home (e)Node B manage a radio networkand play a role of interlocking with a core network, it can beconsidered as a form of a set. Hence, in the following description, theterms of the Home (e)Node B subsystem and the Home (e)Node B can be usedin a manner of being mixed.

MME: an abbreviation for a Mobility management Entity. It plays a roleof controlling each entity in the EPS to provide a session and mobilityfor a UE.

Closed Subscriber Group (hereinafter abbreviated CSG): it means a groupof one or more Home (e)Node Bs. The Home (e)Node Bs belonging to the CSGhave an identical CSG ID. Each user receives an approval of useaccording to a CSG.

Closed Access Mode: it indicates that a Home (e)Node B operates as a CSGcell. It indicates that the Home (e)Node B operates in a manner ofallowing an access only for a user equipment allowed to a correspondingcell. In particular, only the user equipment having authority forspecific CSG IDs supported by the Home (e)Node B can access.

Open Access Mode: it indicates that a Home (e)node B operates in thesame manner of a normal cell (non-CSG cell) without a concept of a CSG.In particular, it indicates that the Home (e)Node B operates like anormal (e)Node B.

Hybrid access mode: it indicates that a Home (e)Node B allows a userequipment of a non-closed subscriber to access, although the Home(e)Node B operates as a CSG cell. It is able to provide a Home (e)Node Bservice in a manner of allowing a user equipment having a specific CSGID capable of supporting a corresponding cell to access. It indicatesthat the Home (e)Node B operates in a manner of allowing a userequipment having no CSG authority to access.

Selected IP traffic Offload (SIPTO): in case that a UE transmits aspecific IP traffic via a Home (e)Node B or an (e)Node B, a technique todivert the specific IP traffic to such a wired network as the internetand the like instead of using a network of a mobile communicationservice provider (e.g., 3GPP, 3GPP2).

SIMTO femto (or femto SIPTO): in case that a UE transmits a specific IPtraffic via a Home (e)Node B, a technique to divert the specific IPtraffic to such a wired network as the internet and the like instead ofusing a network of a mobile communication service provider (e.g., 3GPP,3GPP2).

SIMTO macro (or macro SIPTO): in case that a UE transmits a specific IPtraffic via an (e)Node B, a technique to divert the specific IP trafficto such a wired network as the internet and the like instead of using anetwork of a mobile communication service provider (e.g., 3GPP, 3GPP2).

Local IP Access (LIPA): a technique connecting a Home (e)Node B to alocal network (i.e., a small scale network, e.g., a home network in homeor a company network) and enabling a UE in the Home (e)Node B to accessthe local network via the Home (e)Node B.

Local gateway: a gateway enabling LIPA or SIPTO via the Home (e)Node B,in particular, the gateway enabling a data to be transmitted to a homenetwork or a wired network without passing through a core network. Thelocal gateway is positioned between the Home (e)Node B and the wirednetwork. The local gateway generates a bearer between the Home (e)Node Band the wired network and enables a data to be transmitted via thegenerated bearer.

Session: a session is a path to transmit a data and a unit of thesession may correspond to a PDN, a bearer, and an IP flow unit, and thelike. As defined in 3GPP, each unit can be classified into a wholenetwork unit (APN or PDN unit), a unit distinguished by QoS in the wholenetwork unit (bearer unit), and a destination IP address unit.

PDN connection: it indicates a connection from a UE to PDN, inparticular, it indicates a relation (connection) between the UErepresented as an IP address and the PDN represented as APN. This meansa connection (UE-PDN GW) between entities in a core network to form asession.

UE context: situation information of a UE used to manage the UE in anetwork, in particular, the situation information consists of UE id,mobility (current position, etc.), an attribute of a session (QoS,priority, etc.).

Local PDN: such an independent individual network as a home network oran enterprise network, which is not an external PDN.

Local Home (e)Node B network: it means a network to access a local PDNand consists of a Home (e)Node B and an L-GW.

Local network: a network including a local Home (e)Node B network and alocal PDN.

Meanwhile, a method proposed by the present specification is brieflyexplained in the following description.

Explanation on a method of providing a SIPTO service in a Home (e)Node B

The present specification proposes an architecture in order to divert(offload) a specific IP traffic of a UE to a public network, i.e., apath passing through nodes of a wired network via a Home (e)Node Binstead of using a mobile communication network in a mobilecommunication system such as 3GPP UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunication System)/EPS (Evolved Packet System).

Regarding this, it is explained with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of an architecture proposed by thepresent specification.

Referring to FIG. 5, an example of such a mobile communication system asan EPS (Evolved Packet System) is depicted. The EPS system includes asource eNode B 300 a, a target eNode B 300 b, a source local P-GW 400 a,a target local P-GW 400 b, a source MME 510 a, a target MME 510 b, asource S-GW 520 a, a target S-GW 520 b, a source P-GW 531, a target P-GW532. The source eNode B 300 a and the target eNode B may correspond toan (e)Node B or a Home (e)Node B.

The eNode Bs (300 a/300 b: hereinafter commonly called 300), the MMEs(510 a/510 b: hereinafter commonly called 510), the S-GWs (520 a/520 b:hereinafter commonly called 520), and the P-GWs (531/532: hereinaftercommonly called 530) are based on the EPS.

The local gateway (400 a/400 b: hereinafter commonly called 400) ispositioned between the eNode B 300 and a wired network 700 andcorresponds to a gateway enabling SIPTO via the eNode B 300. The localgateway 400 enables a session to be generated via a path between theeNode B 300 and the wired network 700 and enables a data to betransmitted via the generated bearer.

The local gateway 400 may include a part or a whole function of a PDN-GWfor the EPS system or may include a part or a whole function of a GGSN(Gateway GPRS Support Node) for UMTS. Yet, since the local gateway 400enables a bearer to be generated via the path between the eNode B 300and the wired network 700, the local gateway can be differentiated fromthe P-GW 520 of EPS or the GGSN of UMTS, which generates a bearer via apath to the mobile communication network 600. Hence, the local gatewaycan be called a local P-GW in EPS or a local GGSN in UMTS.

Meanwhile, although a system depicted in FIG. 5 is based on EPS, SIPTOdepicted in FIG. 5 can be applicable to 3GPP UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunication System) as well. In the 3GPP UMTS, both a controlplane function of the MME 510 and a user plane function of the S-GW 520can be performed in SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node (not depicted).

In the following description, operations are explained with reference toFIG. 5.

If the UE 100 makes a request for a service, the SGSN or the MME, whichcorresponds to a control entity in the core network, judges whether adata of the service requested by the UE 100 can be diverted onto thewired network 700. In this case, although it is passing through such thewired network 700 as the public network, a provided access point may beidentical to that of the mobile communication network 600. Inparticular, an APN (Access Point Name) indicating a name of the accesspoint is identically used and a SIPTO permit can be separatelydesignated to each APN.

As mentioned in the foregoing description, when the UE 100 performs anaccess attempt, a specific APN is provided to an entity in the corenetwork. And, the entity in the core network, e.g., the MME 510 of EPSor the SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) of UMTS can judge whether theaccess of the UE 100 is diverted (offload) onto the nodes of the wirednetwork 700 such as the public network. In this case, the control entityin the core network, e.g., the MME 510 can determine whether a data forthe requested service is diverted onto the wired network 700 such as thepublic network in a manner of considering whether an eNode B accessed bythe UE 100 is the (e)Node B or the Home (e)Node B and whether the eNodeB supports SIPTO.

If the data is determined to be diverted, a session for the data of theservice is configured to divert in a manner of passing through the wirednetwork 700. In other word, in order to judge whether the session forthe data transceived with the UE 100 is based on a radio section withthe source eNode B 300 a, e.g., the Home (e)Node B or the wired networkwith the source local gateway (i.e., the local-GGSN or the local P-GW)400 a, the source MME 510 a can check a parameter in the UE context,e.g., a SIPTO_Session_indicator.

In case of providing mobility for the session in progress, it follows alegacy mobility procedure. The source MME 510 a determines anappropriate target MME 510 b and delivers a UE context to the determinedtarget MME 510 b. The source MME may transmit a parameter, e.g., theSIPTO_Session_indicator indicating whether the session in progress is asession based on the SIPTO or may receive the SIPTO_Session_indicator ina manner of inquiring of the HSS, which is a subscriber informationserver, based on the UE context.

And then, the target MME 510 b can determine whether the session basedon the SIPTO is maintained in a manner of considering whether the SIPTOis supported by the target eNode B 300 b, a service provider policy, aQoS, and the like.

And, in case that the UE moves to coverage of the target eNode B 300 b,it may be necessary to change the local P-GW or the local GGSN where thedata of the UE 100 is passing through. In this case, it should considerradio access capability, the QoS requested by the session, mobility, andthe like.

If the local P-GW or the local GGSN is necessary to be changed, thesource MME 510 a or the SGSN terminates a current session by deliveringthe aforementioned reason to the UE 100 and can induce the UE to make arequest for a new session. The inducement can be performed by the sourceMME/SGSN for the source eNode B or the target MME/SGSN for the targeteNode B.

In the foregoing description, the architecture proposed by the presentspecification is explained to provide the SIPTO service via the Home(e)Node B.

In the following description, basic procedures to provide the SIPTOservice via the Home (e)Node B are explained with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram of a basic procedure to provide a SIPTOservice via a Home (e)Node B.

Before starting to explain with reference to FIG. 6, assume that the UE100 and the entities in the core network support a multiple PDNfunction, a LIPA, and the SIPTO via a macro base station, i.e., an(e)Node B.

When the UE 100 accesses the macro base station, i.e., the (e)Node B200, a traffic is passing through an external network via a macro SIPTO,i.e., the P-GW 530 in the core network. If the UE moves to the Home(e)Node B 300, a traffic may pass through the external network via afemto SIPTO, i.e., a local network.

As mentioned earlier, when the UE moves to the Home (e)Node B 300, itmay be preferable to ask a user whether the user accepts or agrees thatthe traffic is passing through the external network via the femto SIPTO,i.e., local network.

Hence, the MME 510 can determine whether a PDN path is configured againfor the femto SIPTO according to whether the user accepts or agrees.And, it is necessary to check whether a purpose of use of the PDNconfigured again is for the LIPA (e.g., a home network data), the SIPTO(e.g., an internet data), or both the SIPTO and the LIPA.

Detail procedures are explained in the following description withreference to FIG. 6.

0) First of all, the UE 100 accesses the macro base station, i.e., the(e)Node B 200 and the macro SIPTO is applied to the data of the UE. Inparticular, the data traffic of the UE is delivered to the externalnetwork via the P-GW 530 in the core network.

1) Subsequently, the UE 100 performs an access attempt to the Home(e)Node B 300 by a TAU/RAU procedure or a handover procedure.

2) In this case, the MME 510 determines whether the SIPTO is applied ina manner of considering a type of the Home (e)Node B 300 (closed accessmode, open access mode, or hybrid access mode), an address of the L-GW,and whether the SIPTO/LIPA is allowed. If it is determined that theSIPTO femto is not applied, the MME performs a gateway selectionprocess.

In the following description, decision on whether the SIPTO femto isapplied is explained in detail.

First of all, since the UE 100 has accessed the Home (e)Node B 300, thepresent invention judges whether the LIPA or the SIPTO is available. Ifthe SIPTO is available, the present invention can additionally judgewhether the SIPTO femto is available.

First of all, the MME 510 can be aware of whether the LIPA or the SIPTOis available (capability information) via a delivered L-GW address. TheMME 510 can additionally judge whether the LIPA or the SIPTO isavailable in a manner of considering a type of the Home (e)Node B. TheMME can support the LIPA or the SIPTO in case that the Home (e)Node Boperates in a hybrid mode in a manner of considering the type of theHome (e)Node B.

Subsequently, whether the SIPTO is available can be judged by 3 kinds ofmethods as follows. A first method is to use a factor (or an indicator)indicating whether the SIPTO is permitted, e.g., SIPTO permission and afactor (or an indicator) indicating whether the LIPA is permitted, e.g.,LIPA permission. If both the SIPTO and the LIPA are confirmed aspermitted via the two indicators, it can be determined as the L-GWexists in the Home (e)Node B 300 where the UE 100 has accessed and thenthe SIPTO femto is permitted. A second method is to use a dedicatedfactor (or an indicator) indicating whether the SIPTO femto ispermitted, i.e., a SIPTO femto permission factor. A third method is touse Allowed, Prohibited, and SIPTO femto allowed as an attribute valueof a factor (or an indicator) indicating whether the SIPTO is permitted,e.g., SIPTO permission.

The first method is explained in detail in the following description.

The SIPTO permission and the LIPA permission have values as follow.

-   -   SIPTO permission: Allowed, Prohibited    -   LIPA permission: LIPA-prohibited, LIPA-only and LIPA-conditional

Hence, it is able to judge whether the SIPTO femto is permitted in amanner of combining the SIPTO permission and the LIPA permission.

In particular, if the values capable of being possessed by the twofactors are combined, a total of 6 combinations are generated. A part ofthe combinations can be determined as a factor indicating whether theSIPTO femto is permitted.

Meanwhile, in case that whether the SIPTO femto is permitted is judgedby combining the SIPTO permission and the LIPA permission, there exist amerit in that a new factor is not necessary to be added but it is alsohard to apply according to each PDN.

Hence, the second method is described in the following description.

If a PDN is classified according to a purpose of use, the PDN can beclassified into a service provider PDN such as an IMS and the like, anenterprise PDN, a home network PDN, an internet PDN, and the like. Inthis case, if whether the SIPTO is permitted is judged by combining theSIPTO permission and the LIPA permission as mentioned in the firstmethod, it is difficult for the enterprise PDN to configure not topermit the SIPTO femto due to many reasons such as a security and thelike but to permit a normal SIPTO.

Hence, it may be preferable to have a separate SIPTO femto permission asshown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 SIPTO SIPTO femto permissions LIPA permissions permissionsOperator PDN allowed LIPA-prohibited prohibited (IMS) Enterprise PDNprohibited LIPA-conditional prohibited Home network prohibited LIPA-onlyprohibited PDN Internet PDN allowed LIPA-prohibited allowed

As shown in Table 1, if a dedicated factor indicating whether the SIPTOfemto is permitted, i.e., the SIPTO femto permission is used, whetherthe normal SIPTO is permitted can be differentiated from whether theSIPTO femto is permitted according to each PDN. In Table 1, the internetPDN permits both the SIPTO macro and the SIPTO femto and the operatorPDN permits only the SIPTO macro.

Meanwhile, the third is to use Allowed, Prohibited, and SIPTO femtoallowed as an attribute value of a factor (or an indicator) indicatingwhether the SIPTO is permitted, e.g., SIPTO permission.

TABLE 2 SIPTO permissions LIPA permissions Operator PDN (IMS) AllowedLIPA-prohibited Enterprise PDN prohibited LIPA-conditional Home networkPDN prohibited LIPA-only Internet PDN Allowed SIPTO LIPA-prohibitedfemto allowed

As shown in Table 2, the third method is to use Allowed, Prohibited, andSIPTO femto allowed as an attribute value of a factor (or an indicator)indicating whether the SIPTO is permitted, e.g., SIPTO permissionwithout adding the dedicated factor indicating whether the SIPTO femtois permitted, i.e., the SIPTO femto permission.

3) Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 6 again, if it is determined that thefemto SIPTO is applied, the MME 510 inquires of a user whether the useraccepts or agrees that a traffic of the user is transmitted in a mannerof passing through a local network.

Specifically, in order for the MME 510 to ask whether the user acceptsor agrees that the traffic of the user is transmitted in a manner ofpassing through a local network, the MME transmits an informationrequest message, e.g., an ESM information request message to the UE 100.The information request message, e.g., the ESM information requestmessage can include an indicator asking for a request of whether theSIPTO femto is accepted or agreed, e.g., a Request for allowance forSIPTO femto. To ask for the user whether the SIPTO femto is accepted oragreed is because QoS (Quality of service) may not be secured in casethat the traffic of the user is transmitted in a manner of beingdiverted onto the local network.

The UE 100 transmits an information response message, e.g., an ESMInformation Reply message. The information response message, e.g., theESM Information Reply message includes a response received from the userin response to whether the SIMTO femto is accepted or agreed or mayinclude a pre-stored response in response to whether the SIMTO femto isaccepted or agreed.

Meanwhile, a process of inquiring of the UE 100 by the MME 510 can beomitted. For instance, the response of the user for whether the user hasaccepted or agreed can be stored in the subscriber information server,e.g., the HSS. This is a method that an operator or a server managerinquires of the user whether the user has accepted or agreed in advanceand stores a result of the inquiry in the subscriber information. Thisis the method of recording whether the user has accepted or agreedwithout inquiring of the UE and the method of recording withoutinteraction with the UE. If an intention of the user changes, a changecan be stored in the HSS on a timing point of the change.

As mentioned in the foregoing description, instead of omitting theprocess of inquiring of the UE 100, a process of obtaining theinformation on whether the user has accepted or agreed by the MME 510from the HSS can be added. The process of obtaining can be performed viaa message based on a protocol between the MME 510 and the HSS, e.g., anInsert Subscriber Data procedure.

4) If the UE 100 transmits information on whether the user allows or not(e.g., ESM information) according to an immediate response of the useror a preconfigured response of the user, the MME 510 determines whethera femto SIPTO function is activated based on the information on whetherthe user allows or not. In particular, if a response of the usercorresponds to a rejection, the MME 510 performs a gateway selectionprocess.

5) Yet, if the response of the user corresponds to an acceptance oragreement, the MME 510 deactivates a PDN connection, which is passingthrough the (e)Node B and active.

6) Meanwhile, the UE 100 makes a request for a configuration of a newPDN connection by using an identical PDN.

7) The MME 510 asks the L-GW 400 to activate a new PDN connectionpassing through the Home (e)Node B.

8) If a new PDN connection is generated, the MME 510 informs the UE 100of a PDN connection acceptance or agreement and notifies the UE 100 thatat least one of the SIPTO and the LIPA is available. This notificationmakes the UE 100 request the LIPA later. Having received thenotification, the UE 100 can distinguish whether the generated PDN isdesigned for the LIPA, the SIPTO, or both the LIPA and the SIPTO. The UEcan select a path to which each of IP packets is transmitted based onthe notification.

In particular, although the UE can know a state of access of the Home(e)Node B, the UE cannot know whether the L-GW supports, i.e., whetherthe generated PDN supports the SIPTO femto or the LIPA. Hence, thenotification is additionally necessary to know whether a support isavailable.

Hence, there are two types of methods for notifying the UE of whetherthe SIPTO femto or the LIPA is supported.

A first method is to independently use a notification for informingwhether a support of the SIPTO femto is available and a notification forinforming whether a support of the LIPA is available, respectively. Asecond method is to use one notification for indicating whether thesupport of the SIPTO femto is available and whether the support of theLIPA is available.

First of all, the first method is explained in the followingdescription.

If only the notification for informing whether the support of the LIPAis available is delivered from the MME 510, the UE 100 can know that itis the LIPA PDN and transmits a data related to a local IP access suchas a related home network and the like only. Meanwhile, If only thenotification for informing whether the support of the SIPTO is availableis delivered from the MME 510, the UE 100 can know that it is the PDNfor the SIPTO. In this case, since the UE 100 does not receive thenotification for LIPA permission, it should not be transmitted the dataheading to the local network. In particular, to deliver only thenotification for informing whether the support of the SIPTO is availableto the UE 100 can be used only when a data heading to an externalnetwork such as the internet is allowed in a manner of performing atransmission control according to a purpose. Meanwhile, both thenotification for informing whether the support of the LIPA is availableand the notification for informing whether the support of the SIPTO isavailable can be delivered from the MME 510 to the UE 100.

A second method is described. The MME 510 delivers the notification forinforming whether the support of the LIPA is available to the UE 100. Asmentioned earlier, if the UE receives only the notification forinforming whether the support of the LIPA is available, the UE 100judges whether the generated PDN is designed for the LIPA or the SIPTO.If the generated PDN is designed for the SIPTO, the UE interprets thecontent of the notification as the SIPTO is supported. On the contrary,if the generated PDN is designed for the LIPA, the UE interprets thecontent of the notification as the LIPA is supported.

Meanwhile, the two types of the methods can be summarized according tothe aforementioned factor (or indicator) for indicating whether theSIPTO is permitted, e.g., SIPTO permission and the factor (or indicator)for indicating whether the LIPA is permitted in the followingdescription.

First of all, in case that the Home (e)Node B supports the L-GW, amethod of independently using the notification for informing the supportof the SIPTO femto and the notification for informing the support of theLIPA according to the combination of the factor (or indicator) forindicating whether the SIPTO is permitted, e.g., SIPTO permission andthe factor (or indicator) for indicating whether the LIPA is permittedis summarized in Table 3 as follows.

TABLE 3 LIPA permission LIPA- LIPA- LIPA only conditional prohibitedSIPTO Allowed SIPTO femto + SIPTO femto + SIPTO femto permission LIPALIPA prohibited LIPA LIPA

Subsequently, in case that the Home (e)Node B does not support the L-GW,a method of independently using the notification for informing thesupport of the SIPTO femto and the notification for informing thesupport of the LIPA according to the combination of the factor (orindicator) for indicating whether the SIPTO is permitted, e.g., SIPTOpermission and the factor (or indicator) for indicating whether the LIPAis permitted is summarized in Table 4 as follows.

TABLE 4 LIPA permission LIPA- LIPA- LIPA only conditional prohibitedSIPTO Allowed SIPTO macro SIPTO macro SIPTO macro permission prohibitedX PDN to core X network

First of all, in case of the LIPA, a PDN can be generated in case ofLIPA-conditional. Yet, the PDN may correspond to the PDN designed forthe LIPA or a path transmitted to the core network according to whetherthe L-GW is supported. Hence, in case that the L-GW is supported, anotification for informing that the PDN corresponds to the LIPA PDN isnecessary. In case of the SIPTO, since the PDN is generated by therequest of the MME 510, it is able to notify whether the SIPTO ispermitted. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish the notificationfor which one is permitted among a SIPTO macro and a SIPTO femtoaccording to its application.

And, there may exist a case of occurrence that one PDN supports both theSIPTO macro and the SIPTO femto or a case of occurrence that both theSIPTO macro and the SIPTO femto should not be permitted. In those cases,it is able to determine according to the aforementioned combination aswell.

In summary, in case of making a request for the LIPA notification andthe SIPTO or in case of completing SIPTO PDN configuration (in case offemto or macro), a notification can be provided using an indicator/causevalue.

Meanwhile, in case that the Home (e)Node B supports the L-GW, if adedicated factor or an indicator for indicating that the SIPTO femto ispermitted, i.e., a SIPTO femto permission factor is used, a method ofindependently using the notification for informing the support of theSIPTO femto and the notification for informing the support of the LIPAis summarized in Table 5 as follows.

TABLE 5 LIPA permission LIPA- LIPA- LIPA only conditional prohibitedSIPTO Allowed SIPTO femto + SIPTO femto + SIPTO femto permission LIPALIPA prohibited LIPA LIPA X

Meanwhile, in case that the Home (e)Node B does not support the L-GW, ifa dedicated factor or an indicator for indicating that the SIPTO femtois permitted, i.e., a SIPTO femto permission factor is used, a method ofindependently using the notification for informing the support of theSIPTO femto and the notification for informing the support of the LIPAis summarized in Table 6 as follows.

TABLE 6 LIPA permission LIPA- LIPA- LIPA only conditional prohibitedSIPTO Allowed SIPTO macro SIPTO macro SIPTO macro permission prohibitedSIPTO macro SIPTO macro SIPTO macro

Referring to Table 5, in case of supporting the L-GW, it operatesidentically to Table 3 irrespective of the SIPTO permission. In case ofnot supporting the L-GW, only the SIPTO macro is generated according tothe SIPTO permission. Hence, although Table 6 is different from Table 4,in summary, in case of making a request for the LIPA notification andthe SIPTO or in case of completing SIPTO PDN configuration (in case offemto or macro), a notification can be provided using an indicator/causevalue.

In the foregoing description, it is explained in a manner of centeringon the procedure with reference to FIG. 6. In the following description,informations required to perform each procedure are mainly explained.

1. Subscriber Information

It is the information recorded in the aforementioned HSS or the HLR.

The subscriber information recorded in the HSS or the HLR is deliveredto the MME 510. The subscriber information should include suchinformation shown in Table 7 as CSG subscriber information, informationon whether the LIPA is allowed in a visited network, information on SITPpermission according to each PDN, information on whether the LIPA ispermitted (LIPA permission), information on SIPTO femto permission, andinformation on whether a user permits.

TABLE 7 Subscriber information (subscription) 1) CSG subscription data(subscription data) CSG IDs (APN) 2) VPLMN LIPA Allowed 3) eachPDN—SIPTO permission—whether the LIPA is permitted (LIPA permission):LIPA-prohibited, LIPA-only, LIPA- conditional—whether the SIPTO femto ispermitted (permission)—User Allowance for SIPTO femto: acceptance,decline

As mentioned in the foregoing description, referring to Table 7, sincethe SIPTO can be permitted although the LIPA is not permitted, the SIPTOpermission and whether the LIPA is permitted (LIPA permission) can beused separately. And, the SIPTO femto permission can be additionallyused. Alternatively, the SIPTO femto allowed can be added as anattribute value of the SIPTO permission without the SIPTO femtopermission.

Meanwhile, in case that the information on the acceptance or agreementof the user is included in the subscriber information, since the MME 510does not inquire of the UE 100 and can judge the agreement of the userbased on the information from the HSS, it is able to perform a prompterprocessing.

2. Capability of the Home (e)Node B

Capability information on whether the Home (e)Node B 300 supports theLIPA and the SIPTO should be provided to the MME 510. In this case, theL-GW is necessary to support the LIPA and the SIPTO.

In this case, the L-GW may be included in the Home (e)node B 300 or maybe physically independent from the Home (e)Node B 300.

First of all, in case that the L-GW operates in a manner of beingincluded in the Home (e)Node B 300, the capability information onwhether the SIPTO is supported can be known in a manner of deliveringthe address of the L-GW. In this case, in order to distinguish betweenwhether a function of the LIPA is supported and whether a function ofthe SIPTO is supported, both a SIPTO capability indicator and a LIPAcapability indicator are delivered together. These are additionalinformations necessary when the MME intends to process each of thefunctions in a manner of distinguishing each of the functions.

Subsequently, in case that the L-GW is physically independent from theHome (e)Node B 300, since the Home (e)Node B may not know the address ofthe L-GW, it is not able to transmit with an address form only. Yet,each of the SIPTO capability and the LIPA capability can be delivered bythe configuration of an operator or an owner of the Home (e)Node B. Inparticular, if the SIPTO capability and the LIPA capability aredelivered by the address of the L-GW, a name of a FQDN form, a separateindicator, or the like, it is able to inform the MME of whether thesupport is available. Or, the MME may find out whether the support isavailable in a manner of directly searching for the L-GW usinginformation on location, and the like.

In both cases, it is able to commonly judge whether the support isavailable in consideration of a type of the Home (e)Node B. In case thatthe Home (e)node B operates in the hybrid mode, it is able to supportthe LIPA or the SIPTO without a CSG subscription in a manner ofconsidering the type of the Home (e)node B.

3. LIPA Notification

According to the requirements defined in 3GPP SA 1 standardspecification, the Home (e)Node B can inform the UE that the Home(e)Node B provides an access with an IP network of a home/enterprisenetwork. This can be delivered to the UE before the UE attaches itselfto a network or after the UE attached itself to the network.

In case that before the UE attaches itself to the network, it is calledbroadcasting. In this case, the UE 100 can deliver SIPTO acceptance ordecline information. This sort of information of the UE can be stored inadvance. Or, depending on broadcasting information, if the UE inquiresof a user and receives permission from the user, the UE can transmit thebroadcasting information.

When the UE completes the attachment, it is able to deliver with a NASor an AS message. The UE 100 additionally delivers the SIPTO acceptanceor the decline information in accordance with the present information.Or, the UE can be aware that a PDN generated based on the presentinformation and permission informations of context information isconfigured as a local network.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart briefly showing a control procedure to provide aSIPTO service of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a moredetail procedure of the procedure depicted in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is anexemplary diagram of a message protocol depicted in FIG. 8.

Prior to starting to explain each procedure in detail with reference toFIG. 7 and FIG. 8, depicted messages are briefly explained withreference to FIG. 9 in the following description.

The messages transceived between the UE 100 and the base station, e.g.,an (e)Node B 200 or a Home (e)Node B 300 are the messages based on anRRC (Radio Resource Control) protocol. The messages transceived betweenthe base station, e.g., the (e)Node B 200 or the Home (e)Node B 300 andthe MME 510 or the SGSN (not depicted) are the messages based on S1-AP(S1 Application Protocol).

The messages transceived between the UE 100 and the MME 510 or the SGSN(not depicted) are the messages based on a NAS (Non-Access Stratum)protocol. The messages based on the NAS protocol are transmitted in amanner of being capsuled into the message based on the RRC protocol andthe message based on the S1-Ap message, respectively.

Prior to starting to explain the control procedure depicted in FIG. 7and FIG. 8, a parameter in the depicted message is briefly summarized inthe following description.

SIPTO acceptance: it indicates whether a SIPTO service is accepted,agreed, or rejected.

L-GW address: it is an address of a local gateway and indicates whetherthe Home (e)Node B is able to provide the SIPTO service (SIPTOcapability) as well. In particular, if the address of the local gatewayis included in the message transmitted by the Home (e)Node B, it meansthat the Home (e)node B is able to provide the SIPTO service.

SIPTO capability indicator: it is an indicator of a SIPTO function andcan indicate whether the SIPTO service is provided.

SIPTO permission: it is an authority for a SIPTO service and indicateswhether the SIPTO service is allowed.

LIPA permission: it is an authority for a LIPA service and indicateswhether the LIPA service is allowed.

SIPTO femto permission: it is an authority for a SIPTO service via theHome (e)Node B and indicates whether the SIPTO service is allowed viathe Home (e)Node B.

User Allowance: it indicates whether a user accepts or agrees a use of aSIPTO service via the Home (e)Node B.

LIPA notification: it is a notification for a LIPA service and indicateswhether the LIPA service is allowed.

Packet filter: as information delivered from the MME 500 to the Home(e)Node B or a local gateway, in case that the traffic of the UE 100 isheading to a small scale network, e.g., a home network or an enterprisenetwork, it is a filter for blocking or passing the traffic.

In the following description, it shall be explained in detail withreference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

0) First of all, referring to FIG. 7, the MME 510 obtains subscriberinformation of the UE 100 from the depicted HSS 540. The subscriberinformation of the UE 100 may be differently configured according toeach PDN. The subscriber information configured in each PDN unit caninclude at least one selected from the group consisting of informationon the aforementioned SIPTO permission, information on the LIPApermission (whether the LIPA is permitted), information on the SIPTOfemto permission, information on whether a user of the UE accepts oragrees the SIPTO femto service.

1) Subsequently, referring to FIG. 7, the UE 100 performs an attachprocedure, a TAU procedure, or a handover procedure to access the Home(e)Node B 300.

1-1) specifically, referring to FIG. 8, the UE 100 is in an idle modeand generates an area update request message (e.g., a TAU requestmessage) to request a TAU (Tracking Area Update). The message caninclude an APN for indicating a name of an access point, which issupposed to be received by the UE 100. And, the UE 100 encapsulates thearea update request message, i.e., the TAU request message in a messagebased on an RRC protocol and transmits the capsulated message to the(e)Node B 200 or the Home (e)node B 300. The attach request message mayinclude SIPTO acceptance information indicating the information onwhether a user of the UE 100 accepts or agrees a SIPTO service.

1-1) Having received the RRC message from the UE 100, the Home (e)node B300 extracts the area update request message included in the RRCmessage, i.e., the TAU request message. And, the Home (e)node B 300transmits a connection request message, i.e., an initial message (e.g.,an initial UE message) to the MME 510 in a manner of adding at least oneof an address of a local gateway (L-GW address) and a SIPTO functionindicator together with the extracted message. The connection requestmessage, i.e., the initial message is based on S1-AP. The initialmessage may correspond to an initial UE message as depicted in FIG. 8.

The connection request message, i.e., the initial message may furtherinclude information on the Home (e)Node B, e.g., CSG ID, information ona function of the Home (e)Node B, LIPA service function indicator (LIPAcapability indicator), SIPTO service function indicator (e.g., SIPTOcapability indicator), or the like. In this case, in case of the Home(e)Node B 300, since the Home (e)Node B is able to support both the LIPAand the SIPTO or may support one of them only, the aforementioned twoindicators can be included in the initial message or one of theindicators can be included in the initial message only. In particular,if both the LIPA and the SIPTO are supported, the aforementioned twoparameters are included in the initial message.

If the MME 510 (or SGSN in case of UMTS) receives the connection requestmessage, i.e., the initial message, the MME extracts the area updaterequest message, i.e., the TAU request message (attach request) from theconnection request message, i.e., the initial message. And, the MMEextracts an indicator or information included in the connection requestmessage, i.e., the initial message. The MME 510 stores the extractedindicator or the information.

And, the MME 510 (or the SGSN in case of UMTS) transmits an area updateacceptance or agreement message, e.g., a TAU Accept message to the UE100 via the Home (e)Node B 300. Specifically, the MME 510 (or the SGSNin case of UMTS) encapsulates the area update acceptance or agreementmessage, e.g., the TAU Accept message based on the S1-AP protocol anddelivers it to the Home (e)Node B 300. And, the Home (e)Node B 300extracts the area update acceptance or agreement message, e.g., the TAUAccept message from the encapsulated message and delivers the extractedmessage to the UE 100 in a manner of encapsulating the extracted messageaccording to the RRC protocol.

Although the aforementioned 1) process is explained centering on the TAUprocedure as an example, it can be modified into an RAU (Radio AreaUpdate) procedure, a handover procedure, or an attach procedure. In casethat the aforementioned 1) process is modified into the RAU procedure,the message transmitted by the UE 100 may correspond to an RAU requestmessage. In case that the aforementioned 1) process is modified into thehandover procedure, the message transmitted by the UE 100 may correspondto a handover request message. Or, in case that the aforementioned 1)process is modified into the attach procedure, the message transmittedby the UE 100 may correspond to an attach request message. Since theaforementioned RAU, handover, or the attach procedure can be easilyimplemented by those skilled in the art understood the presentspecification, the RAU, handover, or the attach procedure is notexplained in detail.

2) Subsequently, referring to FIG. 7, the MME 510 (or the SGSN in caseof UMTS) determines whether the SIPTO is applied via the SIPTO femto,i.e., the Home (e)Node B based on the informations received via the RAU,handover, or the attach procedure.

Specifically, the MME 510 (or the SGSN in case of UMTS) can determinewhether the SIPTO femto service is provided to the UE 100 based on atleast one of the subscriber information, the stored information, or theindicator. In particular, the MME 510 can determine whether a PDNconnection of the UE 100 is configured to pass through a path of thenode within the Home (e)Node B 300 and the wired network 700.

Specifically, if at least one of address information of the localgateway and the SIPTO function indicator is included in the TAU requestmessage, the MME 510 judges that the Home (e)Node B is able to providethe SIPTO service.

In particular, the MME judges that the Home (e)Node B is able to providethe SIPTO service in a manner of considering at least one of the addressinformation (i.e., an identifier) of the local gateway and the SIPTOservice-related indicator.

By doing so, in case that the Home (e)Node B is able to provide theSIPTO service, the MME 510 judges whether it is possible to apply theSIPTO for a data of the UE based on the APN.

To this end, the MME 510 may further consider a service provider policy.And, the MME 510 may consider QoS of a bearer required by the UE.Specifically, if QoS of the bearer configured to pass through the pathof the node within the wired network such as the public networksatisfies the QoS required by the UE, the MME 510 can determine that theSIPTO service is provided to the UE.

Meanwhile, the MME 510 can additionally determine whether a LIPA serviceis provided to the UE 100 based on at least one of the subscriberinformation, the stored information, or the indicator.

And, it is able to consider whether the UE 100 is a CSG member of theHome (e)Node B. Information on the CSG membership can be included in thesubscriber information obtained from the HSS 540.

3) Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 7, if the information obtained from theHSS 540 does not include the SIPTO acceptance or agreement informationand the TAU request message does not include the SIPTO acceptance oragreement information, the MME 510 transmits an information requestmessage, e.g., an ESM Information Request message to the UE 100 toinquire of the UE 100 of whether the UE accepts or agrees the SIPTO. Theinformation request message, e.g., the ESM Information Request messagecan include an indicator, e.g., a Request for allowance for SIPTO femtoto ask for whether the SIPTO femto is accepted or agreed.

4) Referring to FIG. 7, the UE 100 transmits an information responsemessage, e.g., an ESM Information Reply message. The informationresponse message, e.g., the ESM Information Reply message may include aresponse received from a user in response to whether the SIMTO femto isaccepted or agreed or may include a pre-stored response in response towhether the SIMTO femto is accepted or agreed.

5) Referring to FIG. 7, if it is confirmed that the user of the UE 100look forward to receiving the SIPTO femto service according to a resultof checking the SIPTO acceptance or agreement information, it is able todetermine that the MME 510 provides the SIPTO femto service to the UE100. Or, although the SIPTO acceptance or agreement information is notincluded in the TAU request message, if it is confirmed that the UE 100look forward to receiving the SIPTO femto service by the obtainedsubscriber information, it is able to determine that the MME 510provides the SIPTO femto service to the UE 100.

6) According to the aforementioned decision, if it is determined that abearer of the UE is processed by the SIPTO femto service (in other word,if it is determined that the bearer of the UE is configured to passthrough a path of the nodes in the wired network 700 such as the publicnetwork), as shown in FIG. 7, the MME 510 deactivates a legacy PDNconnection and then makes a request for the UE 100 to activate the SIPTOagain via the Home (e)Node B (in particular, makes request for the UE todeactivate for re-activation).

6-1) specifically, referring to FIG. 8, the MME 510 transmits a sessiondelete request message, e.g., Delete Session Request message to aserving gateway (S-GW) 520 or an SGSN to delete a session configuredbetween the core network, e.g., the serving gateway (S-GW) 520 or theSGSN and a PDN gateway (P-GW) 530. Having received the session deleterequest message, the serving gateway (S-GW) 520 or the SGSN delivers thesession delete request message to the PDN gateway (P-GW) 530.

6-2) The PDN-gateway (P-GW) 530 delivers a response message, e.g., aDelete Session Response message to the serving gateway (S-GW) 520 or theSGSN and the serving gateway (S-GW) 520 or the SGSN delivers theresponse message, e.g., the Delete Session Response message to the MME510 or the SGSN.

6-3) subsequently, the MME 510 delivers a bearer deactivation requestmessage to the UE to reactivate (deactivation with reactivation) thebearer for the SIPTO after the bearer is deactivated. The bearerdeactivation request message may include an indicator, e.g.,Reactivation for SIPTO indicating reactivation for a cause value, e.g.,the SIPTO.

7-8) referring to FIG. 7, the UE 100 performs a PDN connection and theMME configures the SIPTO via the Home (e)Node B.

7-1) specifically, referring to FIG. 8, the UE 100 a PDN connectionrequest message to the MME 510. The PDN connection request messageincludes an APN for indicating a name of an access point, which issupposed to be received by the UE 100. In this case, the UE 100 caninclude a PDN (APN) identical to the PDN (APN) for a normal service inthe PDN connection request message.

8-1) subsequently, the MME 510 transmits a session generation requestmessage, e.g., a Create Session request including the APN and an address(L-GW Address) of the local gateway (L-GW) to the serving gateway (S-GW)520 to generate the PDN connection for the SIPTO.

Meanwhile, in case that the MME 510 determines whether a LIPA service isprovided to the UE 100 based on at least one of the subscriberinformation, the stored information, or the indicator in theaforementioned process, the MME can include a LIPA permission (whetherthe LIPA is permitted) or a packet filter information in the sessiongeneration request message according to the decision. In particular, ifit is determined that the LIPA service is provided to the UE 100, theMME 510 can include the LIPA permission in the session generationrequest message. If it is determined that the LIPA service is notprovided to the UE 100, the MME 510 does not include the LIPA permissionin the session generation request message and can include the packetfilter information in the session generation request message only.

Alternatively, in case that it is not determined whether the LIPAservice is provided to the UE 100 in the aforementioned process, if theMME receives the PDN connection request message from the UE 100, the MMEmay determine whether the LIPA service is provided to the UE 100.

8-2) Having received the session generation request message, the servinggateway (S-GW) 520 checks a parameter, e.g., an address of a localgateway in the session generation request message. If there exist theparameter, e.g., the address of the local gateway, the serving gateway(S-GW) delivers the session generation request message to the localgateway (L-GW) 400.

In this case, the local gateway (L-GW) 400 checks whether there exist atleast one of the LIPA permission or the filter information in thesession generation request message. In case that the LIPA permission isincluded in the session generation request message, if a data receivedfrom the UE 100 is heading to a small scale network, e.g., a homenetwork or an enterprise network, connected to the local gateway (L-GW)400, the local gateway allows the data to be passed. Yet, in case thatthe LIPA permission is not included in the session generation requestmessage or the filter information is included in the session generationrequest message, if a data received from the UE 100 is heading to asmall scale network, e.g., a home network or an enterprise network,connected to the local gateway (L-GW) 400, the local gateway can blockthe data.

8-3) The local-gateway (L-GW) 400 delivers a session generation responsemessage, e.g., a Create Session Response message to the serving gateway520 and the serving gateway delivers the session generation responsemessage to the MME 510.

7-2) Meanwhile, having received the session response message, the MME510 generates a connection acceptance or agreement message (e.g., aConnectivity Accept message). The generated message may be based on aNAS protocol. In this case, the MME 510 determines whether the LIPAservice is allowed to the UE 100 and can include a notification for theLIPA service in the generated message according to the decision.

Subsequently, the MME 510 encapsulates the generated message in an S1AP-based initial context setup response message (Initial contextResponse message). In this case, the MME 510 can include at least one ofthe LIPA permission and the packet filter information in the initialcontext setup response message according to the decision on whether theLIPA service is allowed to the UE 100.

Subsequently, the MME 510 transmits the initial context setup responsemessage to the Home (e)Node B 300.

7-3) Having received the initial context setup response message, theHome (e)node B 300 extracts the connection acceptance or agreementmessage and encapsulates the extracted connection acceptance oragreement message in an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

And, the Home (e)node B 300 can include a part of the parameterssituated in the initial context setup response message in the RRCconnection reconfiguration message or may include the whole of theparameters in the RRC connection reconfiguration message. And, the Home(e)node B 300 can exclude at least one of the parameters from thereceived connection acceptance or agreement message or may add one ormore parameters or information to the received connection acceptance oragreement message. Referring to FIG. 6 as an example, besides anotification parameter (e.g., LIPA notification) for the LIPA serviceincluded in the connection acceptance or agreement message, an E-RAB idparameter is additionally included in the connection acceptance oragreement message.

The Home (e)Node B 300 transmits the RRC connection reconfigurationmessage to the UE 100.

Meanwhile, the Home (e)Node B 300 stores at least one of the LIPAnotification parameter, the LIP permission, or the filter information ina manner of extracting from the connection acceptance or agreementmessage. And, the Home (e)Node B 300 judges whether the LIPA service isallowed to the UE based on at least one of the LIPA notificationparameter and the LIPA permission. If the LIPA service is not allowed tothe UE, although a data heading to a small scale network, e.g., a homenetwork or an enterprise network is received from the UE 100, the Home(e)Node B 300 discards or blocks the data. Or, if the Home (e)Node B 300receives the data heading to a small scale network, e.g., a home networkor an enterprise network from the UE 100, the Home (e)Node B 300 blocksor discards the data according to a rule of the filter.

Meanwhile, having received the RRC connection reconfiguration message,the UE 100 can transmit an RRC connection reconfiguration completionmessage to the Home (e)Node B 300.

And, the UE 100 checks whether there exist the notification parameter(e.g., LIPA notification) for the LIPA service in the RRC connectionreconfiguration message. If there exist the notification parameter, theUE checks the notification parameter for the LIPA service. If the LIPAservice is not allowed by the notification parameter for the LIPAservice, the UE 100 does not generate a data heading to a small scalenetwork, e.g., a home network or an enterprise network via the Home(e)Node B 300. Or, although a data is generated, the UE does nottransmit the data.

As mentioned in the foregoing description, although the MME 510 and theS-GW 520 are explained on the basis of the EPC in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, theconcept of the present invention can be applied to UMTS as well. In caseof the UMTS, both the MME 510 and the S-GW 520 can be integrated to theSGSN. Hence, a signal transmission and reception between the MME 510 andthe S-GW 520 depicted in FIG. 6 is not performed and the signaltransmission and reception is processed in the SGSN.

Meanwhile, in the foregoing description, it is explained in a manner ofmainly concerning the procedures with reference to drawings. In thefollowing description, operations of each main agent are summarized.

1. UE

The UE provides a SIPTO acceptance/decline to the MME 510. Afterreceiving the present information, the MME determines whether a SIPTOfemto is applied in a manner of comparing the information with variousdecision elements.

Delivery timing of the UE 100 can be performed in response to areception of the information request message, e.g., an ESM informationrequest message or can be recorded in subscriber information of the HSS540 according to a request of a service provider.

Table 8 is a summary of the operation of the UE.

TABLE 8 What the UE 100 transmits to the MME 510—User Allowance forSIPTO femto: Accept, decline

Meanwhile, after the SIPTO femto becomes available, the UE 100 performsa data transmission based on a policy. The policy is delivered inadvance and stored in the UE 100.

After a new PDN connection is generated, the MME 510 delivers a LIPA ora SIPTO notification to the UE 100. Having received each of thenotifications, the UE 100 can distinguish whether the generated PDN isdesigned for the LIPA, the SIPTO, or for both the LIPA and the SIPTO.The UE can select a path to which each of IP packets should betransmitted based on the distinguished PDN.

2. MME

First of all, the MME 510 determines whether a SIPTO femto is applied.To this end, the MME 510 judges whether the SIPTO femto is applied basedon 1. subscriber information, 2. Home (e)Node B (L-GW address, and thelike), 3. Information on whether a user accepts or agrees.

In this case, the information on whether a user accepts or agrees can bedelivered in a manner that the MME 510 transmits a information requestmessage, e.g., an ESM Information Request.

The timing point of receiving the information on whether a user acceptsor agrees by the MME 510 may correspond to the timing point that the UE100 performs an attachment or the timing point that the attachment orthe LIPA is completed. In order to receive the information on whether auser accepts or agrees on the timing point that the attachment or theLIPA is completed, the MME 510 may include an indicator for inquiring ofthe information on whether a user accepts or agrees in an Attach Acceptand a PDN connectivity Accept message.

Meanwhile, the timing point of receiving the information on whether auser accepts or agrees by the MME 510 may correspond to the timing pointof determining whether the SIPTO femto is applied. In this case, sincethe timing point of determining whether the SIPTO femto is applied canbe performed after TAU/RAU or in case of a handover, the timing point ofreceiving the information on whether a user accepts or agrees by the MME510 may correspond to the timing point after TAU/RAU or in case of ahandover.

Meanwhile, the MME 510 can operate a SIPTO PDN and a LIPA PDN in amanner of integrating the SIPTO PDN and the LIPA PDN or separating theSIPTO PDN from the LIPA PDN. A method of separately operating is amethod of operating the SIPTO PDN and the LIPA PDN, respectively. Incase that the SIPTO PDN and the LIPA PDN are operated by beingintegrated, if the LIPA PDN already exists, the SIPTO PDN is combinedwith the LIPA PDN. It is a concept that the SIPTO PDN is absorbed intothe LIPA PDN or shared by the LIPA PDN. Consequently, an integratedContext is generated.

Table 9 is a summary of operations of the MME.

TABLE 9 The MME 510 determines whether the SIPTO femto is applied basedon the information in the following description—LIPA/SIPTO capabilityindicator from the Home (e)Node B—subscriber information—informationfrom the UE: whether a user accepts or agrees Information transmitted bythe MME 1) information transmitted to the Home (e)Node B or theL-GW—whether the LIPA is permitted (LIPA permission), or if the LIPA isnot permitted, filter information to block LIPA traffic 2) informationtransmitted to the UE—LIPA notification—SIPTO femto notification—whetherthe LIPA is permitted (LIPA permission), or if the LIPA is notpermitted, the filter information to block the LIPA traffic

In this case, there is a point to be specially considered. In case thatthe LIPA is not provided, although the SIPTO is provided, the L-GW canbe assigned just like a case of the LIPA. Hence, the UE can transmit adata to a home network. In particular, since a process of generating aSIPTO session is identical to that of a legacy LIPA, LIPA traffic may betransmitted. Yet, SIPTO traffic should be transmitted only and the LIPAtraffic should be dropped or blocked. To this end, the MME 510 performsa control function to block or deliver the traffic delivered to thecorresponding network in a manner of transmitting an indicatorindicating that the LIPA is not permitted to the Home (e)Node B or theL-GW or in a manner of delivering the filter information (target IPaddress and the like), CSG id, APN, and the like to the Home (e)Node Bor the L-GW.

3. Home (e)Node B

Table 10 is a summary of operations of the Home (e)Node B.

TABLE 10 What the Home (e)Node B transmits to the MME 530—L-GWaddress—SIPTO capability indicator What the MME 530 transmits to theHome (e)Node B 300/the L-GW—whether LIPA is permitted (LIPA permission)What the Home (e)Node B transmits to the UE 100—LIPA notification

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a Home (e)Node B 300 and an MME 510according to the present invention.

As depicted in FIG. 10, the Home (e)Node B 300 includes a storing means301, a controller 302, and a transceiving unit 303. And, the MME 510includes a storing means 511, a controller 512, and a transceiving unit513.

The storing means 301/511 are configured to store a method depicted inFIG. 5 to FIG. 9.

The controllers 302/512 are configured to control the storing means301/511 and the transceiving units 303/513. Specifically, thecontrollers are configured to execute the methods stored in the storingmeans 301/511, respectively. And, the controllers 302/512 are configuredto transmit the aforementioned signals via the transceiving units303/513.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated hereinwith reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparentto those skilled in the art that various modifications and variationscan be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers themodifications and variations of this invention that come within thescope of the appended claims and their equivalents. And, it isapparently understandable that an embodiment is configured by combiningclaims failing to have relation of explicit citation in the appendedclaims together or can be included as new claims by amendment afterfiling an application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling a service in a networkentity in charge of a control plane in a network, the method comprising:receiving subscription information including information related to aselected Internet protocol (IP) traffic offload (SIPTO), wherein theinformation indicates whether the SIPTO is allowed and whether a SIPTOat a local network is excluded; triggering a re-establishment of theSIPTO for a packet data network (PDN) connection when a movement of auser equipment from an (e)Node B to a Home (e)Node B is detected;allowing the SIPTO excluding the SIPTO at the local network for anaccess point name (APN) of the PDN connection when the informationindicates that the SIPTO is allowed and the SIPTO at the local networkis excluded for the APN; and allowing the SIPTO including the SIPTO atthe local network for the APN when the information indicates that theSIPTO is allowed and the SIPTO at the local network is included for theAPN.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein agreement information of a userfor the SIPTO is contained in an information response message receivedin response to an information request message transmitted to the userequipment.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the subscriptioninformation is received when the user equipment performs an attachprocedure, a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure, or a handoverprocedure, and wherein the attach procedure, the TAU procedure, and thehandover procedure are performed by the user equipment when the movementof the user equipment from the (e)Node B to the Home (e)Node B isdetected.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determiningwhether a local IP access (LIPA) service is provided to the userequipment; transmitting LIPA service permission information or filterinformation to a local gateway according to a decision; and transmittingat least one of the LIPA service permission information, the filterinformation, and a notification for the LIPA service to the Home (e)nodeB.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the LIPA service permissioninformation or the filter information is used to determine whether theHome (e)Node B or the local gateway blocks data for the LIPA serviceoccurred by the user equipment, and wherein the notification for theLIPA service is used to inform the user equipment of whether the LIPAservice is permitted.
 6. A network entity in charge of a control planein a network, the network entity comprising: a transceiving unit; and acontrol unit configured to control the transceiving unit, wherein thecontrol unit is further configured to: control the transceiving unit toreceive subscription information including information related to aselected Internet protocol (IP) traffic offload (SIPTO), wherein theinformation indicates whether the SIPTO is allowed and whether a SIPTOat a local network is excluded, trigger a re-establishment of the SIPTOfor a packet data network (PDN) connection when a movement of a userequipment from an (e)Node B to a Home (e)Node B is detected, allow theSIPTO excluding the SIPTO at the local network for an access point name(APN) of the PDN connection when the information indicates that theSIPTO is allowed and the SIPTO at the local network is excluded for theAPN, and allow the SIPTO including the SIPTO at the local network forthe APN when the information indicates that the SIPTO is allowed and theSIPTO at the local network is included for the APN.
 7. The networkentity of claim 6, wherein agreement information of a user for the SIPTOis contained in an information response message received in response toan information request message transmitted to the user equipment.
 8. Thenetwork entity of claim 7, wherein the information response messagecontaining the agreement information of the user for the SIPTO isreceived when the user equipment performs an attach procedure, aTracking Area Update (TAU) procedure, and a handover procedure, andwherein the attach procedure, the TAU procedure, and the handoverprocedure are performed by the user equipment when the movement of theuser equipment from the (e)Node B to the Home (e)Node B is detected. 9.The network entity of claim 7, wherein the subscription information isreceived when the user equipment performs an attach procedure, aTracking Area Update (TAU) procedure, and a handover procedure, andwherein the attach procedure, the TAU procedure, and the handoverprocedure are performed by the user equipment when the movement of theuser equipment from the (e)Node B to the Home (e)Node B is detected.